Title: The Other Jesse
Genre: romance, hurt/comfort, horror
Rating: T for language and mild violence
Pairing: JesseXJaden (spiritshipping)
Summary: Based on the 2009 movie "Coraline". While wandering around Duel Academy, Jaden stumbles into a world that is almost a mirror image of his own. There, he meets the mirror versions of his friends, and a man who looks exactly like his boyfriend Jesse Andersen, only he has dark black buttons for eyes! The Other Jesse, as he calls himself, insists that Jaden stays in the Other World with them, but Jaden refuses, saying that he can't leave the real Jesse. The Other Jesse doesn't like that, and captures the real Jesse, forcing Jaden to play a game to the death with the monster wearing his boyfriend's appearance. But is the Other Jesse exactly who he says he is?
Me: Chapter two of "The Other Jesse"!
Lucy: Jaden has stumbled into the Other World, and has met someone who we all must know by now is the Other Jesse! But poor Jaden seems horrified about it!
Me: What do you all think is going to happen in this chapter?
Lucy: Read on!
Chapter Two: The Others
Jaden was aware that he must have screamed. He had heard a shriek, one of terror, and he was almost certain that it had been his own. As soon as he screamed, the Jesse look-alike rushed to him and placed his hands on the boy's shoulders.
"Shh," the look-alike silenced gently. "It's all right, Jay. No one's going to hurt you."
Jaden tore away from the bluenette and backed away. He couldn't stop staring at the black buttons that held his gaze, the buttons that were replacing his boyfriend's normally green eyes.
"W-who are you?" Jaden demanded.
The Jesse look-alike chuckled and looked away. If Jaden wasn't so certain that it was impossible to do, he was almost positive that the look-alike would have been crying because of how hard he started laughing. Jaden folded his arms across his chest and waited a good few moments for the Jesse look-alike to stop laughing.
When he stopped, he returned his gaze to Jaden and wiped underneath his left button eye, as if wiping a tear away.
"Ohh, Jaden! You're so cute when you're scared," the look-alike noted. Jaden gulped and took another step back. "Oh no, no. Don't be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you."
"Then who are you?" Jaden demanded. "You're not Jesse!"
The Jesse look-alike smiled. "Not quite. I'm called the Other Jesse here," he said. He waved his hand around the room. "This place isn't even the world where you came from. This is known as the Other World. My world."
Jaden was genuinely confused.
"Other Jesse?" he repeated. The Other Jesse nodded and flashed him a big grin. "Other World?" Again, a mere nod and a grin.
Jaden looked around the room and noticed how it was all the same as Jesse's dorm room. Jaden looked back to the Other Jesse and noted the similarities between him and the original Jesse.
They were exactly alike. A mirror image of each other. The Other Jesse had the same Texan accent, the same blue hair, and he even wore the same North Academy school uniform that Jesse wore all the time. In fact, if it weren't for the black button eyes that he had, Jaden would have instantly believed that the Other Jesse was the real Jesse.
Jaden relaxed a bit. "So... are there... other Others of my friends?" he asked. "I mean, is there another me?"
The Other Jesse chuckled again.
"No, Jaden, there is no Other you," he said, and Jaden sort of frowned. He had been looking forward to meeting his Other version. "But, there are Other versions of all of your friends from Duel Academy."
"There are?" Jaden asked with a curious blink.
"Yes," the Other Jesse nodded. He smiled and seemed to just stand still for the longest time. "We have been waiting a long time for you, Jaden. It almost felt like an eternity. We were all growing a bit impatient."
Without another word on the subject, the Other Jesse started escorting Jaden towards the door to the dorm room.
"So, wanna go meet your Other friends?" he asked.
Jaden turned to him with a small smile. "Sure, why not Could be fun," he pointed out. The Other Jesse chuckled and led Jaden out of the dorm room, closing the door and locking it before he took Jaden by the arm, interlocked their hands, and led him down the stairs to the Other Duel Academy's cafeteria.
When Jaden arrived at the cafeteria, he was shocked at how few people there were. There were only his friends sitting in the cafeteria, and they were all talking amongst themselves.
Jaden looked back to the Other Jesse, who merely smiled and nodded.
The Other Jesse cupped his hands around his mouth. "Hey, guys!" he called, loud and clear.
The others sitting at the table glanced over at the call from the other Jesse. It was around this time that Jaden noticed that they were all mirror images of his friends from Duel Academy, except, they had black buttons where their eyes were supposed to be. They were all soulless black, as the Other Jesse's eyes were.
Jaden noticed the girl who looked like Alexis's black button eyes light up. She leaped to her feet.
"Is this him?" she called, bouncing up and down in excitement.
The Other Jesse smiled and nodded. "Yup. Guys, meet Jaden Yuki. The one we have all been waiting for," he said, nudging Jaden forward a little bit, so that he could greet his Other friends.
The Other Alexis, as Jaden assumed she was named, skipped over to Jaden and wrapped her arms around him. "Ohh! I'm so glad that I got to meet you!" she squealed, bouncing up and down with Jaden in her arms.
Jaden laughed nervously and stepped back a step as soon as the Other Alexis let him go. He glanced over and saw the Other Chazz walking up towards him.
"Nice to meet you," he said, reaching his hand forward and shaking Jaden's hand.
Jaden noticed that the Other Chazz was very similar to the original Chazz, but his attitude seemed a bit kinder. The Other Chazz glanced over to the Other Jesse. Jaden looked over and noticed that the Other Jesse sort of snapped the Other Chazz a glare.
Jaden saw the Other Chazz pale considerably.
"I mean, it's so good to meet you, Jaden!" the Other Chazz wrapped his arms around Jaden and squeezed him tightly.
Jaden blinked in confusion and looked over to the Other Jesse. The Other Jesse was smiling once again, no traces of the glare on his face. Jaden shook it off and just assumed that his eyes were playing tricks on him.
Once the Other Chazz was done hugging him, Jaden noticed the Other Syrus walking towards him.
The Other Syrus was just as shy as the real Syrus, but instead of greeting Jaden like the real Syrus did, the Other Syrus just hugged Jaden and shook his hand with a smile on his lips. Jaden raised an eyebrow.
"Other Jesse?" he asked, turning to the Other Jesse.
"Yeah, Jay?" the Other Jesse turned his full attention to Jaden.
Jaden pointed down to the Other Syrus. "I know they are mirror images, but why isn't the Other Syrus speaking?" he asked curiously. He noticed that the Other Syrus tensed slightly.
The Other Jesse waltzed over and placed his hands on the Other Syrus's shoulders, standing behind him. Jaden noticed that the Other Syrus was paling considerably, looking constantly over his shoulder at the bluenette hovering behind him. He gulped, but it made no sound. The Other Jesse was smiling.
"Well," the Other Jesse said with a wide grin. "His real version talked so much, that I thought some silence would be good. Now, all he can do is listen to you. I made him better."
Jaden blinked in confusion. "Made him better?" he echoed.
The Other Jesse's button eyes widened slightly, if that was even possible.
"F-forget it, Jay," he murmured, flashing the brunette a smile. He took his hands from the Other Syrus's shoulders and walked back over to Jaden, wrapping an arm around him. "We have many more people to meet," he told Jaden.
"That's right, mate," the Other Jim said, walking over. "Many more people to meet."
Jaden looked around and smiled at his Other friends. The Other Jesse removed his hands from Jaden and let the boy walk around and introduce himself to his Other friends.
Jaden didn't see the wicked smile on the Other Jesse's face, but the Other Syrus sure as Hell did. The Other Syrus paled and glanced away, wanting so hard to cry out for Jaden, but he possessed no voice. He couldn't speak, nor warn the brunette.
After a while, Jaden had met every single one of his Other friends. They were very similar to his real friends, but there were considerably differences in their personalities. It was as if they had no flaws to them, nothing to make them do anything that would upset Jaden. They were all happy and kind.
Jaden laughed and turned to the Other Jesse.
The sun had long since set, and Jaden had started to remember the real Jesse. The real Jesse must have been so worried about Jaden, since Jaden must have been gone for countless hours.
"N-not that this hasn't been fun, but can you tell me where the exit is?" Jaden asked. "I have to get back to the other Jesse," he added quickly when he noticed the shocked look on the Other Jesse's face, demanding an explanation.
The Other Jesse looked confused. "But, Jay, I am the Other Jesse," he said.
Jaden laughed nervously and rubbed the back of his head. "I-I meant the other, other Jesse," he explained.
The Other Jesse pursed his lips and just stared at Jaden for what felt like an eternity. Jaden felt cold underneath his stare. It was a feeling of fear that Jaden never imagined he could ever feel from Jesse, but then it occurred to him that this wasn't Jesse. This was his Other, his mirror image in the Other World, as the Other Jesse had explained.
"Very well," the Other Jesse said softly after a moment.
He grabbed Jaden's wrist and turned towards the door. Jaden stole one last glance over his shoulder at his Other friends, who were all smiling and waving to him while Jaden was dragged off to the Obelisk dorm room.
Jaden looked over and noticed that the Other Jesse hadn't spoke for a while. He just kept a firm grip on Jaden's wrist and was nearly dragging him towards the dorms.
"Other... Jesse?" Jaden was almost afraid to speak.
"Hm?" It was more of a grunt that a response, but it was good enough for Jaden.
"I-I'm sorry about wanting to leave. I-I just don't want to worry the real Jesse, is all. You understand, right?" the brunette asked.
Once again, the Other Jesse kept his silence. Jaden saw him nod slowly, and he instantly felt a little better. When they reached the Obelisk dorms, the Other Jesse led Jaden to the bed and laid him down. Jaden looked up to the bluenette in confusion, but he just saw the Other Jesse smiling at him, as if nothing was wrong.
"Once you fall asleep, you should awaken right back into your world," he explained.
Jaden looked up at the Other Jesse. The bluenette seemed a little angry about something, but he was smiling, and wasn't going to speak about what was bothering him, Jaden assumed.
Jaden curled up on the bed and closed his eyes, trying to relax his mind so that he could slip into sleep much faster than usual. He felt a soft hand land on his forehead, brush his hair back, and then he felt a pair of lips press softly to his skin. Jaden almost fully awoke, but felt the lips move away, and then he slipped back into his unconscious state.
When Jaden's eyelids fluttered open softly, he found himself laying on top of the covers back in the Obelisk dorms. He glanced around and sat up, looking over towards the dresser.
It was pushed back against the wall, the way it had been when Jaden had come to the Other World. Jaden crawled off the bed and felt around the edge of the dresser, just as the door opened.
"Jay?"
Jaden's breath hitched when he glanced over his shoulder at the sound of a familiar Southern accent. He was expecting to see the Other Jesse standing in the doorway, watching Jaden with his soulless black eyes, but instead, Jaden found himself staring at an emerald-eyed Jesse Andersen, looking very confused.
Jaden's eyes widened. "Jesse!" he cried.
He leaped to his feet and rushed at the bluenette, snaking his arms around his boyfriend. Jesse grunted slightly at the impact, and laced his arms around Jaden for a moment. He then drew him back and peered into his boyfriend's brown eyes.
"Jay? Are you all right? Did something happen?" Jesse asked.
"What?" Jaden breathed. "How long have I been gone? It's felt like hours since I've seen you!"
"Hours?" Jesse looked and sounded genuinely confused. "Jay, I just saw you like fifteen minutes ago. You came to the dorm to get my deck, and then I came to get you, since you didn't come back."
"Fifteen-" Jaden blinked in confusion and looked over his shoulder at the dresser.
Jesse followed his gaze. "Jay, what's wrong?" he asked. Jaden pushed away from Jesse and rushed to the dresser. "Jaden!" Jesse ran right for the brunette and watched as Jaden ripped the dresser away from the wall. Jaden's eyes widened, and he reached forward, running his hands over the perfectly clear door-less wall.
"B-but..." Jaden scanned the wall again, running his fingers over it. "T-there was a-"
"Jay?" Jesse laced his arms around his boyfriend's shoulders. "Did something happen? You seem freaked out."
Jaden looked at the ground and shook his head slowly. "N-no, it's nothing," he murmured to himself. "I-I'm just tired is all. I think I might need to get some more sleep, is all."
"You sure?" Jesse asked.
A simple nod from Jaden was all that Jesse needed. He helped his boyfriend up and guided him to the bathroom so Jaden could take a bath and then hopefully relax a bit before it got a bit later, and then he would fall asleep. For the rest of the time, Jaden didn't mention anything about the doorway or the Other Jesse.
But he couldn't help but feeling that it was more than just a mere dream.
Me: All right! Jaden has returned back to the real Jesse, after meeting the Others!
Lucy: And already, we can sense that the Other Jesse really doesn't want to let Jaden go, since he was so reluctant to let Jaden return to the real Jesse! What will happen now?
Me: If you would all like to find out, then please read on as soon as we update this story!
Lucy: Please review, nicely!